When to go

Antarctic Spring: October to early December

The pack ice begins to break up, and the landscape is at its most pristine, with plenty of fresh snow. It’s mating season for the penguins and other birds returning to their breeding sites. You’re likely to witness courtship displays, nest building, and egg tending. In South Georgia, Elephant and Fur seals are mating, and King penguins are laying their eggs. Parents can be seen “carrying” eggs on their feet so that one parent can shuffle around the colony while the other adult goes out to sea to feed.

This is a fantastic time for photography, as the start of summer brings with it amazing sunsets and ever-changing cloud formations. This is also the time when albatross, marine fulmars, and petrels adorn the Southern Ocean, and the blue-eyed shags return to the region. Antarctica is never crowded, but in the early season there are far fewer ships and the vastness and purity of the region is even more pronounced. For many of us who work in or travel to Antarctica frequently, it is our favorite time to be there.

Antarctic Autumn: mid February to March

Sightings of whales are at their peak in the Peninsula, and the receding ice makes it possible for us to explore further south. An increasing number of Fur seals can be found along the Peninsula and offshore islands; young Fur seals are also quite playful in South Georgia.

Penguin colonies are very active. The penguin chicks begin their molt, losing their fuzzy down and developing their adult plumage.

By now, most parents have abandoned their chicks, and have gone out to sea to feed and fatten up for their own molting stage. Most colonies (Adélie, Chinstrap and Gentoo) are nearly vacated by early March.